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HOT contractors block free lane expansions
* '''I-95 Express''' near Miami, Florida. It currently runs from just north of I-395/SR-836 to the Golden Glades area just north of NW 151st Street in Miami-Dade County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.95express.com/|title=95 Express|accessdate=February 3, 2015}}</ref>
* '''I-95 Express''' near Miami, Florida. It currently runs from just north of I-395/SR-836 to the Golden Glades area just north of NW 151st Street in Miami-Dade County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.95express.com/|title=95 Express|accessdate=February 3, 2015}}</ref>
* '''I-95 Express Lane''' runs from Stafford, Virginia to the border of Alexandria, Virginia.<ref>{{cite web|date=December 29, 2014|accessdate=February 3, 2015|url=http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/virginia/2014/12/28/trooper-enforce-i-95-express-lanes-tolls/20972765/|title=I-95 Express Lane tolls enforced today}}</ref>
* '''I-95 Express Lane''' runs from Stafford, Virginia to the border of Alexandria, Virginia.<ref>{{cite web|date=December 29, 2014|accessdate=February 3, 2015|url=http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/virginia/2014/12/28/trooper-enforce-i-95-express-lanes-tolls/20972765/|title=I-95 Express Lane tolls enforced today}}</ref>
==Maximizing the public good==
Traditionally, governments used traffic engineers to design highways for optimum traffic flow. For example, if usage increased, additional lanes would be added to a highway to accommodate increased traffic demand data. However, in some cases, where the HOT lanes are constructed by a private contractor and tolls are set based upon congestion pricing, the government gives up the right to expand the road or to build parallel roads. Some contracts call for the government to compensate the contractor for lost revenues if additional free lanes are built. For example, I-95 just south of Washington, DC was expanded from 3 lanes in each direction to 4 lanes until just past Occoquan. In 2017, terrible traffic backups occur where the road goes back to three lanes, and local governments and officials pressed to have the fourth lane extended south one additional interchange. The Virginia Department of Transportation declined to study the expansion out of fear that the HOT contractor has the first right to expand the road at that point and would also be entitled to compensation for lost revenues if the state built a non-tolled lane.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://potomaclocal.com/2017/01/13/virginia-wont-consider-widening-i-95-blames-express-lanes/|title=Virginia won’t consider widening I-95, blames Express Lanes |date=January 13, 2017|accessdate=January 15, 2017}}</ref>
==References==
==References==
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[[Category:Transportation]]
[[Category:Transportation]]